Sapa, a mountain town perched at 1,500 meters altitude . This is a visit that's more my wife's responsibility than mine. When planning our itinerary for this trip to northern Vietnam, I would have gladly skipped Sapa if it were up to me. Why?
Sapa, too touristy?
Mainly because of this reputation for overdeveloped tourism , and the ethnic groups who, although they seem welcoming, end up managing hordes of tourists, it seemed to me to detract from the experience and the friendly aspect that is supposed to be the key to this encounter.
Once isolated , Sapa was first a military base before becoming a colonial hill station, which then remained active for nearly fifty years, developing interactions between locals through the creation of a market.
There came a troubled period linked to the war of independence and then the Vietnam War.
Today, it has once again become a popular mountain resort , initially mainly for Vietnamese people from 1993 when the area reopened to the public, and then gradually for foreign tourists.
Since Sapa was finally included in the trip, this is how our meeting with the Hmong went.
A trek like no other: Meet our guide
Having arrived early in the morning, we couldn't check into our hotel immediately, so we had some time to explore the surroundings before deciding what to do next. While passing by the large square next to the church, we were approached by one of the women from the Hmong ethnic group, more specifically, from the "Black Hmong" ethnic group.
Classically, since it is therefore the "tradition" in Sapa, she invites us to take us to her village. Well, concretely, since we were there and Jitima wanted to come to Sapa, we had no reason not to go either.
However, I didn't want to leave right away, and due to lack of time, I suggested going by motorbike rather than on foot...
So, the famous Sapa trek is out for us… I can already imagine dark looks being cast upon me… “Frenzy!”, “Why not walk with her, that’s what makes the experience interesting”, etc.
First of all, it's due to lack of time. When you travel, you have choices to make, and here, I prefer to spend more time on site, in the village. In addition, when you see the commercial aspect and all these groups of tourists leaving in a happy herd with their guide(s) of the day, you tell yourself that at least we have the merit of doing it differently...
So we agreed to meet her at the same place at 13 p.m. and left Sapa, heading towards the Ton Pass Tram.
Tram Ton Pass and Thac Bac Waterfall
If you do the loop from the other side (via Mai Chau, Dien Bien Phu and Lai Chau among others), you will probably go through this pass to reach Sapa.
In our case, it was just to take a look at the view from the pass, and indeed, what a view!
The road leading there is also beautiful, passing the imposing Mount Fansipan , which dominates the Sapa region. If you have the time, you can trek to its summit , which rises to 3,143 m.
We were content with a stop at a viewpoint and at the Thac Bac waterfall (also called Silver Falls in English).
The water falls about 100 m over several floors. Not particularly impressive, the entrance, which is paid all the same, does not cost much (exact price to come). And after all, it is on the road, so you might as well stop.
Sapa, a small mountain town
After our morning stroll, we returned to the hotel to check in, and were surprised to be "upgraded" to a superior room which opens onto a large terrace with a superb view of the mountains and the town of Sapa.
I'm taking this opportunity to mention that we stayed at the Sapa Stunning View Hotel , which lives up to its name and the welcome was great, so I recommend it (around €15).
I have also just seen that they have bought the old Family Guesthouse, a little further up (at number 28 on the same road instead of 63 where the original hotel is located) to make it a Stunning View 2.
Since we still had some time before 13pm, we were going to take a little walk around the city, just to find a restaurant to eat. In doing so, we arrived at the edge of the lake.
We will be approached by a group of Hmong women, sellers of jewelry and souvenirs… One of them, a friendly granny with a generous smile. Above all, she is a great saleswoman!
While I slipped away to take pictures, Jitima ended up buying him some trinkets. After this little moment at the edge of the lake, we returned as promised to the church square to see our "guide" of the day again.
Ta Van Valley
First, we had to wait for someone to pick her up on a motorbike, then pick up a friend who was also returning to the village. Finally, we headed to the village of Hau Thao , located a good 10 km from Sapa (so allow 3-4 hours if you go on foot!).
As we moved away, we were reassured that we had done well to prefer the motorbike...
We negotiated the "tour" down to $25 , including a meal and gas for their motorcycle. Pretty good, although she lied about the road tax to be paid on the road leading to the village. We'll see the actual price when she goes to pay it at the checkpoint; the fee was barely $1 when she told us it was $5.
That said, it was still an excellent price and we were going to have a relaxing afternoon in a really great setting!
Meanwhile, we drove along part of the Ta Van valley . We stopped from time to time at a viewpoint set up to take photos, inevitably encountering other vendors, most of whom were children…
Hau Thao Village
As we approached the village, our guide stopped at a small roadside shop to do some shopping, in order to buy what we needed to prepare our meal.
Then, shortly after, we turned off the main road to climb onto a small secondary road which quickly became a mountain path with the first houses, our arrival point.
I parked the motorbike and then we set off on foot, barely 5 minutes to reach the house where we would spend the afternoon.
While preparing the meal, we got to know our host's children and went to take some photos of the surroundings.
It was over the meal that we got to know our guide a little better and the customs of his ethnic group , the black Hmong, as a reminder.
We learned a few words of her native language, how she learned English by talking to tourists, and that unlike other women in Sapa, she only works as a guide as a supplement, once or twice a week.
The pigs in front of the house are kept for a year, until the Hmong New Year when they will be sacrificed and eaten.
His level of Shakespeare's language being rather good, it was an enriching discussion and all this, over an excellent meal , it must be said, it was the best of all our meals!
A good afternoon in the calm of the village, where I regret that the rice fields are not yet planted, but the scenery is already fabulous.
At the end of lunch, she brings out a bottle with a clear liquid, my wife thought it was water and starts to gulp down her little glass that we just served her... Rice alcohol, which they locally call "happy water", we understand why...
Our host and we have several drinks without getting drunk either.
We couldn't leave without her and her friend showing us some of the handcrafted products they make when they're not hosting tourists.
Jitima is happy, and so is our host!
My apologies for her, I can't find the name of our guide, but I carefully noted it in my paper travel diary that I must find again (the joys of working at home...)
The time had come for farewells, souvenir photos as the setting sun bathed the entire side of the mountain facing us in a soft reddish light.
We'll also take the time to stop and admire the sunset along our journey back to Sapa. Next stop? The Bac Ha market.
For my part, if I was initially reluctant to come to the region, I quickly changed my mind when faced with these fantastic landscapes and the possibilities offered by the surroundings of Sapa. Certainly, the city is touristy, there is an undeniable commercial aspect in the interaction with the local populations, but it is, a priori, quite possible to appreciate the experience by making the right choices.
And you, what was your experience in Sapa? What is your opinion on the tourist development of the place? Want to go there?
